What to Read: Book Reviews From Real Simple Readers

The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets, by Kathleen Alcott

Reviewer: Anne Glenn; age 28; married; Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Anne’s assessment: Alcott’s lyrical debut follows three friends—Ida, Jackson, and James—as they come of age and chronicles the ways in which their long-standing friendship grows complicated. Told in a series of vignettes, and therefore lacking a traditional plot, this book beautifully (if at times verbosely) portrays the intensity of young love and the trouble its volatility can cause. When Alcott digs deep into Ida’s psychology, describing her obsession with Jackson and her loss of innocence, her prose really hits home.